Saturday, 10 January 2015

Birchbox UK - Unboxing - January 2015 'Women's Health special'

It's that beauty box time of the month again! I've actually got some other boxes which I've not posted, yet, and I'm not sure if I will. I've cancelled one and am going to stop getting the other too - Both boxes are still good but they don't excite me as much and I, simply, just don't have the funds anymore. I am going to try and keep getting Birchbox for a bit longer, but we'll see how that works out, depending on finances.

I heard a bit about this box, before mine arrived, people had said it was an ok box but not amazing. I actually quite like mine, there's a few things I'm not massively excited about but that's, mostly, because they're duplicates. That said, they're duplicates for things that are really, rather, good so it's not a complaint as much as just being a shame to not get something new (but how long can we expect to get new stuff when we sub to boxes for a long time?)

If you enjoy the box, like I have, and you want to subscribe then you can use my code: http://birchbox.co.uk/?raf=19096 The code will get you £5 in the birchbox store, and it'll get me the same. It's also worth keeping an eye on special offers as they often have them and you can pick up some great goodies, or get some money off.

Anyway, to the box!

This month Birchbox have a collaboration with 'Women's Health' - This isn't an obvious company for a beauty box to collab with so I was very interested to see what they'd do.

The theme, for this month, is 'Hit Refresh' which is rather fitting for the New Year, with so many people going for the 'New Year, New Me' thing. The booklet that comes with the box, this month, has 12 little challenges in it; small ways to improve your life, which is a lovely idea.

And here what comes in the box - Some really good sized samples and a full sized, high value, cosmetics product as well as a couple of little lifestyle items. I, genuinely, think it's a really good box with lots of variety and good sized samples.

First up we have the item which has caused a bit of an issue in my box, it leaked a little. Not a lot, just enough to make everything feel a bit 'off', haha. I'll be dropping BB a quick note to let them know that the lids on these don't seem great at keeping the product in - If you guys get this/have this then I'd recommend keeping an eye on it.

On the plus side, it seems really rather nice! This is the activebod 'Feel Great Shower Concentrate' - I've never heard of a 'shower concentrate' before so that's rather intriguing. The product has sea minerals and green tea in it and it has a beautifully refreshing scent to it that I think, really would, perk you up and make you feel fresh and lovely. The full size of this is 100ml whereas our sample is 20ml, which is a good size. The full size of this is a rather affordable £5 so if you love it then it won't break the bank to repurchase.

Beauty addicts rejoice! The REN 'Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask' is a well known cult favourite that many will be pleased to be able to try, or to get some more of. As the name suggests this mask is supposed to give radiance and, if the gurus are to be heeded, it does the job, and it does it well. I already have a sample of this, somewhere, but my sample collection is in disarray at the moment so I've still not tried it. I'm more than happy to have a second tube, though, I love masks and one with a reputation like this is going to be more than welcome. This is a 10ml tube whereas the full size is 50ml and costs £30.

This cute little 5ml tube contains a product from a brand I love, and I mean Love. I've been using Heal Gel products for a while (I loved the product so much after review that I bought Two more despite the hefty price tag). One of their products that I've never tried, though, is their Body cream. The lotion is meant to calm and regenerate the skin with its anti-inflammatory ingredients. The tube is small, it's not going to cover the whole body, but I'll definitely be using it on my least regenerated areas to see how it works. The full size of this is 100ml and costs £39.50.

Stila is a brand that's always bound to make me smile and I'm always happy to get their products in a box, especially as their one of the pricier brands that I enjoy. I have a number of their 'Lip Glazes' and I really like them so seeing one in the box made me very happy. This beautiful, deep, creamy pink is a beautiful shade and it's called 'Glamour'.

The gloss is sheer but with plenty of pigmentation and I Love it, a lot of the glazes I've picked up along the way have been almost colourless so to get another one to add to my collection that has a nice hit of colour is very pleasing - And I love the fruity scent of these, just lovely. These cost £15 so this covers the cost of the box, and more, instantly.

If you subscribe to Birchbox, already, or if you read posts a lot then Beauty Protector products won't be new to you. This, particular product, the 'Protect & Detangle' is one of the products that I've had a couple of times before but the scent is so addictive that I really don't mind. It;s one of those scents that you can smell even with the bottle closed, the moment I opened the box I had an inkling that there was a Beauty Protector item in there. This bottle doesn't have an amount on it, but the full size is 236ml (? According to BB ?) and costs £14.

Lastly we have two lifestyle type items. The Embrace Matcha isn't listed as a lifestyle item but a single portion of tea classes as lifetyle to me! Some people don't like getting tea in their boxes but it's not something I mind, I like tea. Matcha tea is something that I've been intrigued by and enjoyed a few times so happy to get this in the box. A pack of 30 servings of this costs £24.99.

The last item, which is listed as lifestyle, is the Birchbox and Women's health 'Pilates Band' - This is an item that won't be a lot of use for a lot of people but could provide great inspiration for some, It's a resistance band which is meant to help improve the results of a workout - It's valued at £7.99.

As I said, above, I like the box - Mostly samples but a lot of them are good sizes. And the one full sized item is a great, high value one. The mix of rejuvenating, pampering, nourishing products fits well with the new year, looking after yourself, transformation type theme and the variety is fab.
Again, if you want to sign up, then don't forget my link and don't forget to keep an eye out for special offers: http://birchbox.co.uk/?raf=19096.

10 comments:

I really do love beauty protector and I appreciate getting them as they smell amazing, but wearing a bit thin I think hahah! I am excited to get this box to try but think it's very sampleyyyyyyy haha which is the point, but a bit naff compared to my little box etc xx

I do think we've been spoiled by getting boxes with so many full sized items, etc, that we often forget that we're meant to get 4-5 samples lol. I do think this one is very sampley, but thankfully I like the samples. I do agree with beauty protector, though, enough is enough lol xx

I had a philip Kingsley shampoo sample instead of the spray treatment and a claudalie serum instead of the ren mask. My lipgloss was not a very 'me' colour but I may use it still. I really liked this box and the Pilates band is a really nice touch to kick off the January exercise

It's nice when the other product options are as good, if that makes sense. Often I'll get samples and go 'Theirs are so much better; or others will say the same as mine but Kingsley for Protector and Caudalie for REN... pretty equivocal which is nice.

I saw a lot of people got sheer glittery Stila and I'd have been gutted by that as I already have two like that whereas the colour I got in this box, I love.

Not sure I have any use for the band but I definitely love the concept!